The Right to Obscurity and Strategic Silence

Sor Juana strategically used religious frames to express dangerous ideas, hid behind the authority of the Church while subtly critiquing it, and eventually stopped writing altogether rather than submit to censorship. This concept reclaims silence not as voicelessness but as choice—sometimes the most powerful form of resistance available. In contexts where speaking openly invites punishment, surveillance, or co-optation, strategic obscurity becomes a survival practice. Marginalized communities have long used coded language, double meanings, and apparent compliance to communicate truths that would be suppressed if stated plainly. The cultural imperative to make yourself visible, legible, and available to scrutiny can itself be a form of domination. By examining Sor Juana's periods of withdrawal, we honor how individuals from dominated groups sometimes protect their intellectual autonomy through selective engagement, refusing the demand to perform identity and knowledge for external validation.